


How To Cage My Own Angel

by jojo99



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-05-31 16:50:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6478168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jojo99/pseuds/jojo99
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry, Ron and Hermione were set to have a relaxing weekend catching up at the Burrow, until they walked into the kitchen. Ginny and her mum were in tears and Mr. Weasley was stressed. What was wrong? How would it affect Harry?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Friday

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thank-you to mew-tsubaki for the legendary beta work on this, and for the inspiration to finish off some stories.
> 
> Disclaimer: All of this belongs to JKR.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were enjoying the freedom that only a Friday evening could bring with the whole weekend in front of them. As it was such a lovely summer evening, they had Apparated further away from the Burrow than normal so they could walk and enjoy the evening.

"Are you sure that you can handle being away from the bright lights and those gorgeous women for an entire weekend?" Ron was teasing Harry as yet another picture had graced the front of _The Daily Prophet_ that showed Harry next to a young woman. Ron and Hermione were under the assumption that Harry had been thoroughly enjoying himself over the past few years with plenty of pretty young women throwing themselves at him regularly. Recently, they had seen him quite often with a blonde woman about whom they believed that Harry was very serious.

Harry laughed at Ron. He knew that his two best friends thought that he had a very active social life. They probably would not believe the reality. Yes, he was seen with many different women when he had to attend Ministry functions. The fact was, they were usually last minute dates, who tended to irritate and bore him very quickly, which is why he did not see them again. In reality, there was only one woman that he wanted to take to all of these events and spend his time with, but she was taken and had been for the past few years.

Harry was in love with Ginny Weasley and had been since his sixth year at Hogwarts. The trouble was that Ginny had been going out with Dean Thomas then and still was. He hated seeing the two of them together, so he had avoided as many gatherings as he could at the Burrow where he would be forced to watch them be happy together. The only time he allowed himself the chance to study Ginny was when he went to watch her play for the Holyhead Harpies. He would go by himself to the games, usually in disguise so no one would recognise him, and would treat himself to watching Ginny fly.

"I think I'll be just fine, thanks, mate," Harry eventually replied. "I'm really looking forward to relaxing with you guys. It's been ages since we've been able to catch up."

"Yes, it has been a while. They're keeping you busy with missions and training, aren't they?" said Hermione.

"Yeah. I enjoy it, though. Ron's been busy at the shop, too, and I've heard you're revolutionising the Magical Law Office, so I'm not the only busy one," said Harry.

The three friends kept walking slowly towards the Burrow, chatting about general topics and enjoying each other's company. Harry hoped the whole weekend would be relaxed like this.

**-H &G-**

As the three friends walked into the kitchen of the Burrow, they realised that something was amiss. Ginny was sitting at the kitchen table looking bleak and thunderstruck at the same time. Beside her, Mrs. Weasley had tears running down her cheeks, and standing against a bench Mr. Weasley had his hands in his thinning hair.

"Bloody Auntie Muriel!" muttered Ginny. "What in the name of Merlin possessed that evil old bi.."

"Ginny," warned her father.

"Come on, dad. How can you defend her after this?" retorted Ginny angrily.

"I... I... I... er," he answered, unsure.

"What in the name of Merlin is going on here?" asked Ron

He was answered by silence. After about a minute, Mr. Weasley answered.

"Your great Auntie Muriel seems to have gotten herself into a bit of trouble. You know that tiara she has? Well, apparently it doesn't seem to belong to her as much as she seems to think it does. Muriel's second cousin Violet believes that she should have inherited it and they've been fighting about it since Bill and Fleur's wedding. The tiara seems to be a lot more valuable than even Muriel expected. The only way that Violet will let Muriel keep the bloody thing is if Muriel arranges a marriage between the two families. Violet's great-great nephew is keen to find a wife and Muriel really wants the tiara, so she was glad to oblige. They have made and signed a contract already and Muriel has just sent us a copy by owl to expect a visitor on Monday.

"WHAT! WHO? WHAT!" yelled Ron.

Harry had a bad feeling about this seeing the way that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were upset. He looked over at Hermione. She had an anxious look on her face and was absently playing with the strap on her bag. Ron just looked thunderstruck.

Mrs. Weasley quietly continued, "Ginny is the only unmarried female Weasley so it can only be her."

Harry's heart dropped to his stomach. "Who..er..who is the great-great nephew?" He didn't want to hear the answer but at the same time he just had to know.

"Zacharias Smith," answered Ginny despondently.

"WHAT!" exclaimed Harry.

"THAT TOSSER!" Ron spat out at the same time as Harry.

"There's got to be something you can do? Ginny can't be made to marry that idiot just because Muriel wants the tiara," Ron appealed to his parents. Harry was glad that Ron had asked the question he had been about to ask. He thought that his heart must be down near his ankles by now.

"Well. We got in touch with Kingsley straight away and he's having one of his legal experts look it over, but it's not promising. Bill is getting the goblins to check it out, as well," Mr. Weasley replied. "In years past, family matriarchs, like Muriel, were legally allowed to arrange marriages. Over the past century or so it hasn't been as popular but it is still legal. Muriel mentioned that her grandmother had a marriage arranged and she was very happy with it."

Harry had been watching Ginny while her father was speaking. She had now dropped her head onto the table with her hands in her lap and her shoulders were shaking. Harry could see the tears dropping onto the table. All he wanted to do was to go and hug her and make everything all right but that seemed impossible.

Suddenly, Kingsley's head appeared in the fireplace. Everyone except Ginny looked around in anticipation.

"It's not the best of news, Arthur," said Kingsley. "The contract is ironclad. The only way that she could not be considered for the marriage is if she were already married."

"What are the consequences if Ginny chooses not to follow the arrangement?" asked Hermione quietly.

"Well, Miss Granger, it's a little complicated. If one or both parties refused, then they will be imprisoned. If one party was willing to follow through with the contract they would need to declare their intentions to the Ministry and they would be spared from imprisonment. Mr. Smith was apparently quite pleased when Violet told him about it and is looking forward to Monday. He said he's always held this family in high regard and is looking forward tremendously to a future with Miss Weasley."

"Imprisoned!" said Ron. "Imprisoned … what the … in Azkaban?"

Kingsley nodded. Mrs. Weasley started howling. Mr. Weasley ran his fingers further through his remaining hair. Harry's heart hit the floor. This was just wrong, he thought. There was no way he was going to let Ginny have to marry Zacharias Smith or go to Azkaban.

"Azkaban!" echoed Harry. "But there are dark wizards out there and Ginny would have to go to that hellhole for not wanting to get married to that prat. That's just not fair!"

"No it's not, Harry. But unfortunately those are the consequences. It's a magically binding contract."

Harry was contemplating all that he had heard and was trying to make sense of it all so that he could find a solution. He could possibly deal with Ginny getting married to someone else if she were truly happy. It would be heartbreaking but he could let her go if she was truly happy. Harry knew she would never be remotely happy with Zacharias Smith. He looked over at Ginny who was still crying, now into her mother's shoulder. Stuff it, thought Harry and he crossed the kitchen, sat next to Ginny and hugged her. Hermione soon joined him. Ron seemed to be rooted to the spot, muttering under his breath.

"So, if on Monday when Zacharias arrives, Ginny is married then the arrangement is cancelled?" asked Harry.

Kingsley nodded once more. "That is correct. The contract does not specifically name Ginny, only the hand of an unwed Weasley witch on the day that the two parties are presented to each other. And as there are no other unmarried Weasley women, the contract would be null and void."

"What about future Weasley girls?" wondered Mrs. Weasley. "What if Bill and Fleur were to have any girls?"

"They will be fine," reassured Kingsley. "The contract is only valid for 5 years. Any underage Weasley girl is not recognised with regards to this arrangement unless they come of age during the five years."

"Well I guess that's something," Mrs. Weasley sniffed.

"That doesn't help Ginny, though, does it" stated Ron.

Seeing that the conversation was over, Kingsley farewelled the group in the kitchen and added that he was always available to help.

**-H &G-**

Three hours later Harry, Ron, Hermione and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were in the kitchen staring at uneaten food. Even Ron was not hungry! Ginny had disappeared upstairs to her room to be alone. Harry knew that she would be crying her heart out and wanted desperately to go and console her. That would not help the situation, though. There was no way that Harry was going to let Ginny be forced into an unhappy marriage. He had to find a way and he was starting to think that there was only one option.

"Mrs. Weasley. Is Ginny seeing anyone? Does she have a boyfriend?" He knew the answer: bloody Dean Thomas. He guessed that Dean would be a better option than Zacharias as long as Ginny was happy about it.

Mrs. Weasley looked at Harry. "Well as it happens, no. She and Dean broke up a month or so ago. She said that they had been drifting apart for ages. Why?"

Harry was shocked. How did he not know this? So much for staying in the loop. "Well, seeing that Kingsley said that if Ginny was already married, the contract would be void, then I .. I thought.." Harry was flustered and annoyed at himself _. Speak clearly man, are you an Auror or an idiot._ "I thought it would be better for Ginny to marry Dean who she is .. er ... was happy with, rather than be forced into marrying Smith. I realise she would rather not marry anyone at this stage but it'd be better if she was with someone who she has a chance of being happy with."

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked at Harry and then both started crying again. Mr. Weasley escorted his wife out of the room saying that he would try to get her to have a lie down and maybe a Calming Draught.

Hermione looked at Harry. "Of course. But I don't think Ginny would want to marry Dean any more than Zacharias. In fact, I think that Dean and Susan Bones are now an item. If only there was someone else. Harry? No. Sorry. You and Helen. No. Sorry."

Ron looked at Hermione like he could not believe what she was saying. "Harry! Marry Ginny. No way. What would he do about all his other girls?"

Hermione stared at Ron in disapproval. Harry just frowned and then he slowly smiled, jumped up and ran out of the room.

**-H &G-**

"Ginny. Can I come in?"

Harry was outside Ginny's bedroom wanting desperately to talk to her. He had a plan. He did not think that Ginny was going to think it was too great, but she might think it would be a better option.

"Ginny?"

Ginny slowly opened the door. Her eyes were puffy, her face red and blotchy and her hair was all tousled as if she had been running her fingers through it regularly.

"What, Harry? I don't really want to talk just now. In case you haven't noticed, this has not been a great day. And I thought it couldn't get any worse after today's training." Ginny was understandably cranky and ready to hate the world.

"What happened at training?"

"Couldn't catch the Quaffle to save myself and I got hit twice by the stupid Bludgers. One in the ribs and one on my knee. Just not my day."

Ginny walked over to her window, leaving the door opened. She motioned Harry inside. Once he had walked a few steps he flicked his wand and the door shut. After muttering some words, the room was silent.

"What in the name of Merlin...?"

"Silencing charms."

Harry decided to get straight to the point or he may never have the courage to say it.

"Look, Ginny, I know it's been a horrible afternoon but I have an idea. You may not like it, but it's got to be better than Smith."

Ginny collapsed onto her bed. Harry thought that it was better not to join her there and sat down near the window and looked at Ginny. He took a deep breath. Come on, Harry. Out with it. You can do it. Be brave. It is just Ginny. He was feeling very nervous. He did not want to tell her too much and totally embarrass both himself and Ginny.

"Right. Well you know how Kingsley said that there's only one way not to marry Smith and stay out of Azkaban?"

Ginny nodded.

"Well I originally thought that maybe you and Dean could, like, get married." Harry could not believe he was saying this to her. "But your mum said that you and he ..." The words would not come out. He looked at Ginny hopefully.

Ginny shook her head. "No way. I couldn't. Not him either."

Harry sighed with happiness. At least that is something, he thought.

"Well, then, I thought. If there's no one else. Howaboutme?" It came out so quickly that he did not know if she had heard or understood him.

"You? Planning on rescuing me again are you, Potter? What about your girlfriend? What about all of your girlfriends? You are always looking so happy next to one of them in the papers. Why would you possibly want to do this?"

"I didn't realise that you read those articles," Harry replied.

"How could I not see them, when they are slap bang on the front of most papers and magazines very regularly? How do you remember them all? I wouldn't want to deprive you of your active social life, Harry. You seem to be having a ball."

"Actually, Ginny, the girls are not an issue. I don't have a girlfriend."

"What about the latest pics with the girl from your office? I thought the Ministry would frown upon two co-workers dating."

"Helen is not my girlfriend. We just work together. She's going to be an excellent Auror. I'm just training her. She has a boyfriend, in fact. A Muggle who's quite famous, actually. Plays football. Very pretty looking. I've seen her photos."

"So then you are happy to give up all those pretty witches and Muggle ladies, too, I've heard, for your best mate's little sister. You seem to enjoy being with lots of women, Harry. Why would you want to give that up?"

"Ginny. My social life is nothing like it's made out to be, honestly. You should know how much the papers exaggerate things."

"Come on, Harry. Your name is always linked with someone. Surely there are quite a few ladies out there that you'd rather be with? Why sacrifice your social life for me?"

"It really wouldn't be a sacrifice, Ginny."

Harry looked at Ginny, wishing for the hundredth time that the papers had not exaggerated his love life so much. Should he tell her how he really felt? How he has felt for years but was too busy saving the wizarding world to be able to tell he?. No, come on Harry. Be honest. You were too worried about being rejected to tell her. Maybe today's news was the opening that he had been looking for, for a long time.

"Look, Ginny. I know I'm just your brother's mate and you're not interested in me at all. Merlin knows, you were going out with Dean for long enough. But I do like you Ginny. I have always considered you a good friend and an important part of my life. I think you are a great Quidditch player. I love watching you play."

"You watch me play? I didn't know that you came to the games. You should have told me. I could have gotten you some good seats."

"It's okay. I like sitting quietly and watching by myself. Easier to concentrate on the game."

"Oh, okay. So you think that we'd be happy together, do you?"

"Why not? You could move to my place. Have your own room, of course. Come and go as you like. Definitely keep playing Quidditch. We're friends. I'm sure we could get along. Wouldn't that be better than having to live with Zacharias Smith? And I'm sure he would expect you to share a room and much more."

Ginny shivered. "Don't make me think about that, please." Ginny sat quietly for a few moments and the looked straight into his eyes. "What about love? What about sex? I don't know what to do, Harry. This is just a hopeless situation."

"Ginny, I know you don't love me. I don't expect you to fall in love with me. We're friends. I wouldn't force you to do anything you didn't want to do. You know that surely. We could make this work. Couldn't we?"

Ginny nodded. "I guess that I have to do something. I'm sure as hell not going to marry Smith. I guess I have to do something before Monday." She looked up at him, biting her lip. "So are you thinking that we should elope?"

"Well... that's the general idea. We could go and get married this weekend. Ron and Hermione could come as witnesses. Then we come back and tell your parents. To everyone else we could just make up a story that now you are single, we've realised that we're desperately in love and couldn't wait any longer to be married."

"I suppose that could work. But before I agree, there's just one thing."

"Okay. What?"

"This."

The next thing that Harry knew was Ginny in his arms kissing him. This was what he had been waiting years for. He put one arm around her waist and pulled her in closer. His other hand snaked through her sweet smelling hair. Harry was in heaven. He did not want this to stop. Ginny's hands moved from his shoulders to his waist and then under his shirt. Oh sweet Merlin, Harry thought. Both of their mouths opened as the kiss deepened and their tongues flicked against each other. Harry groaned and tried to pull her even closer. Ginny moved her hands from his back to his muscular stomach and started circling them up his chest. Harry had no idea how long they had been kissing, but he knew he'd happily do this forever. Gradually they pulled apart, both looking dazed.

"What? Why?" stammered Harry.

"Just checking. You are one hell of a kisser, Potter!"

"Likewise, Weasley. But why?"

"Well, I don't really want to marry someone that I have no chance of being attracted to, now do I? I just needed to know that there's some hope."

"Hope. Hope of what?"

"Happiness. Fun. I don't want a solitary life, you know."

Harry was shocked. Things were definitely looking up.

"So what now?" asked Ginny as she picked up her wand and with a flick brought out a bag and started packing various clothes and personal items.

"I guess we could go to my place and sort out some details there. Ron and Hermione can help. They've been trying to have a weekend away. Maybe this could be their chance. What should we say to your mum and dad?"

"Probably best just to say we're working on something. The less they know for now, the better. They'd rather find a different way out of this, I'm sure. But there's really no time for that now."

**-H &G-**

"You're WHAT?" exclaimed Ron and Hermione at the same time.

"Harry and I are eloping and we need your help."

"But..." Ron was clearly not happy with this plan.

"What else could I do, Ron? Harry is a good friend. He's not going to stop me from doing the things I love. We can be happy. I'd much rather spend my life with Harry than Zacharias. I can't think of anyone else that I'd prefer to do this with in this situation. He's your best mate. Surely that's got to be a good thing?"

Ron turned to Harry. "What about all those women? You've been really enjoying life of late, mate. Do you really want to give all of that up?"

Harry groaned. "Ron. How many times have I tried to explain to you that the papers put my love life well out of proportion? Truly. It's not a problem. I'm happy to do this and no this is not me doing the noble thing and rescuing her 'cause I can. I want to."

Harry smiled at Ginny and she gave him a cheeky grin in return. Since they had arrived at his house, Ginny seemed to have relaxed. Maybe she is just resigned to the fact that this is really going to happen, Harry thought.

"Time to get things organised. Hermione, could you please find us someone that can legally marry us tomorrow? We need to make sure this is done properly."

"If you're sure that this is definitely what you both want to do, then okay."

"We're sure," Harry and Ginny said together.

"Okay. Ron, come and help me."


	2. Saturday

Harry was making breakfast the next morning, when Hermione arrived. He knew that Hermione was going to start questioning him, seeing that they were alone, so he braced himself for the inquisition.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Hermione.

"Straight to the point, eh?" said Harry. "Yes, I do."

"But, what about..."

"Look, Hermione," interrupted Harry. "If Ginny is okay with this, and I'm okay with this, you shouldn't be worried. Let us do what we think is right, okay?"

Hermione stared at him for a while and then shrugged. "Okay," she said quietly.

"Wow, that wasn't as much of a fight as I'd imagined you'd put up," said Harry.

"Well, honestly, there's nothing else we can do. I'd much rather see Ginny and you together, than her having to live with Zacharias Smith."

"Me too," said Ginny from the doorway.

"Morning, Ginny," said Harry. "Sleep okay?"

"Good morning, you two. Yeah, I slept better than expected," replied Ginny.

Harry took a deep breath and looked directly at Ginny. "Do you still want to do this today?" he asked.

"Yes," she said staring back at him. "Do you?"

"Yes," he replied, still staring at her.

"All right, we better get ready then," she said.

"Good. Breakfast first. Hermione, do you want some?" asked Harry.

"Yes, please. I haven't had anything yet. Ron said he'd be here soon, too."

"So, I better put some more on then," joked Harry.

Just as they sat down to eat Ron arrived, sniffing with approval.

"Excellent. Breakfast. I'm starved," he said.

"You're always hungry. You'd eat all day, every day, if you could," said Hermione.

"Good thing I cooked more, then," said Harry.

Ron joined them at the table and they started to discuss their plans for the day.

"I found someone who can do the service for you," started Hermione. "He works in the law office with me and will be discreet."

"Excellent, thanks, Hermione," said Harry.

"He'll meet us at three in my office and we can go wherever you like from there," she continued.

"I've booked a couple of rooms in a Muggle hotel, up near the Lakes for tonight," said Ron.

"Oooh, the one we went to last year?" asked Hermione. "That was lovely; very peaceful and quiet."

"It had a great restaurant, too," said Ron.

"You would think of that," Ginny said.

"Well it was!" exclaimed Ron.

"Would there be anywhere near there, where we could have the service?" asked Ginny. "I really don't want to get married in the Ministry of Magic."

"There were some nice gardens, would that be okay?" asked Hermione.

"That will be fine," said Ginny. "I just need to get something to wear. What about you lot?"

"I've got new suit that I haven't had to wear yet. That should do me," said Harry.

"I've got a dress I can wear, and Ron's got a suit, too, so we should be fine. I can go with you and help, if you like, Ginny?" said Hermione.

"Thanks. That would be good. What do you two have to do?" asked Ginny.

"Well, I need to go to my vault, so I'll have to head into Diagon Alley," said Harry.

"I might go and see Mum and Dad, and tell them that we're organising something and not to worry," said Ron.

"Good idea, though, you might not want to tell them what it is just yet. They'll probably still be a little upset. We'll tell them tomorrow," said Ginny.

"Are you sure?" asked Ron.

"Yes, they'll just stop us and try to look for another way, which won't appear, so I'd end up having to be with Zacharias Smith," said Ginny. "We'll let them know when we're done."

Hermione and Ginny disappeared to the shops as soon as breakfast was finished. Harry quickly cleaned up and got ready to head to Diagon Alley.

"I won't be that long. Do you want to meet back here just before one? That should give us time to pack and get organised," said Harry.

"Yeah, I'll see you then," replied Ron.

"Good luck with your mum and dad," said Harry.

"It'll be fine," said Ron. "By the way, mate, thanks for doing this. I've been thinking and I'd rather see Ginny have a chance at being happy, and I know you'll be good to her. Just promise me one thing: no more dates with other women, please?"

"I promise. I'll look after her and there will be no more dates with other women."

Harry and Ron headed off individually to their separate destinations. Harry quickly went to Gringotts and collected some Muggle money, as well as some Galleons. He also found his mother's engagement ring, and both his parent's wedding rings. After leaving the bank he headed back to his flat and started packing for the night.

He was feeling quite strange. He could not quite believe that he would be marrying the girl that he had loved for years. It was just a shame that it was because of necessity, rather than being something they both really wanted. Hopefully they would be happy together.

**-H &G-**

Ginny returned to Harry's flat at half past eleven. Harry had finished his packing by then and was sitting at the table when she walked in.

"Did you find something?"

"Yes. It wasn't that hard, actually. I found a lovely dress in the first shop we went to, and then I found shoes to match in a shop nearby. So I think I have everything ready to wear."

"I think you might be missing one thing."

"Really? What?"

Harry took a deep breath and brought his mother's engagement ring out of his pocket. He held it up for her to see.

"This."

"Oh, Harry! It's beautiful."

"It was my mum's. I want you to have it."

"Are you sure? Surely this should be for the woman that you're madly in love with."

"Gin, I want you to have it," he said, looking straight into her chocolate coloured eyes.

"Okay then," she replied quietly, holding his gaze.

Harry slipped it on her finger and she held her hand up to examine it.

"I also have my parent's wedding rings here. Would you like to use those, or would you prefer to go and get something new?"

"Do you want to use them?"

"I honestly don't mind. If you feel weird about it, we don't have to."

Ginny took a moment to answer.

"Let's use them. They were happy together. Hopefully that will be a good omen for us using them."

Harry smiled at her words. _What a lovely thing to say._

"All right then. I guess we're organised."

**-H &G-**

Hermione and Ron arrived back at Harry's flat, with their overnight bags, at half past twelve.

"I told Thomas that I would collect him at three, and take him up to the hotel. That gives us time to go there now and get ready," said Hermione.

The four of them Apparated to a quiet spot, just outside of the hotel. Once they had checked in, Harry and Ron went to one room to get ready, while Ginny joined Hermione in the other.

Harry showered and dressed reasonably quickly. He sat down and watched the television while Ron took ages in the shower. Ron eventually finished dressing, and joined him in front of the television to watch a game of football. Harry tried to explain the rules to Ron as the game progressed. Ron was not overly impressed that there was only one goal so far. He said that the lack of scoring made it dull.

Just before three o'clock, Hermione appeared at their door to let them know that she was about to go and collect Thomas. Harry decided that he and Ron would head down to the lakeside to find a quiet spot. Hermione said she would collect Ginny when she returned and bring her down.

**-H &G-**

Harry turned towards the hotel. Ginny and Hermione were walking down the stone pathway, past the colourful garden beds and flowering shrubs. Harry could feel his heart hammering away in his chest. Ginny took his breath away. She was dressed simply, yet elegantly in a white shift dress that hugged her curves. Her hair was pulled back from her face with blue, glittery clips, and it fell in waves down her back. What really finished her appearance was the radiant look on her face, as she walked along chatting to Hermione.

Just then, she noticed he was staring at her, and gave him a cheeky smile and a wink. Merlin, what had he gotten himself into? Would he be able to get through this without collapsing at her feet or blurting out his feelings to her?

"You all right there, mate?" asked Ron.

"Um, yeah."

"You sure you want to marry my sister?"

"Yeah, I do."

"What's wrong then? You look a little out of sorts."

"Nothing's wrong. I was just watching Ginny. She looks great."

"I guess she scrubs up okay."

"Mmm. She's gorgeous."

"I just see my annoying little sister, though she is dressed a lot nicer than usual."

Harry was saved from saying any more by the arrival of Ginny, Hermione, and a man, who was most likely Hermione's co-worker, Thomas.

The ceremony was short and to the point. They said their vows and exchanged rings, before signing the official paperwork for the Ministry. After that, Thomas announced them as Mr. and Mrs. Potter and told Harry he could kiss his bride. He leaned down, intending to brush his lips briefly against Ginny's. Once his lips had touched hers, he did not want to pull away. He hugged her closer to him and kept kissing her. Ginny's hands travelled up his arms to cradle his face and she returned his kiss. It was only the flash from a camera that brought him back to reality. He looked around and saw Ron with a camera and Hermione smirking at them. Thank Merlin it was not a reporter from _The Daily Prophet_ or _Witch Weekly_.

"I thought we should take some pictures of this. Mum will ask for them, you know," said Ron.

Harry stood with Ginny as Ron took photo after photo. He was rapidly getting sick and tired of smiling. Apparently, so was Ginny.

"Ronald. That's it. We've had enough. You've got enough," she snapped.

"Yeah, thanks, mate," said Harry calmly, trying to keep the peace.

"You know, Ronald, we should let Harry and Ginny have some time together," said Hermione from a bench nearby, where she had been sitting talking with Thomas. "I'm sure they have lots they would like to talk about."

Harry looked at Hermione. She was smirking at them again. It was that _I know something important_ smirk that she often had at school. _What is_ _she up to?_ He decided to go along with her suggestion. It would not be a hardship to spend time with Ginny, after all.

"Ah, sure. That might be nice," he said. "Do you want to go for a walk, Ginny?"

"Okay," she replied.

"Good," said Hermione. "We'll see you later up at the hotel." With that she gestured to Ron and Thomas to follow her, leaving Harry and Ginny by themselves. Harry reached for Ginny's hand and they started walking slowly down a nearby path.

**-H &G-**

Harry and Ginny walked hand in hand through the extensive gardens, down towards the small lake. At the lake edge, they both stopped and looked quietly across the lake. Ginny was the first to break the silence.

"Harry, are you going to tell me why you have given up everything for me?"

"I haven't given up everything," he said turning to look down at her.

"But, all the women you were pictured with..."

"Ginny, I know you probably won't believe this, but my social life is nothing like it's made out to be."

"So what do you do with your time?"

"I work, listen to Quidditch, and sometimes go to Quidditch, by myself. I see Ron and Hermione. I visit Teddy ... really, that's about it."

"So all of the witches you are pictured with ..."

"Ginny, please believe me about this. Ron and Hermione don't, and I can't convince them. I get invited to lots of Ministry events, and I tend to leave finding a date to the last possible moment, in the hope that I'll be on a mission and won't have to go at all. I usually end up asking someone the day before. When I'm there, I only stay for the shortest time possible and I usually leave without my date."

"Why don't you go alone?"

"I did the first time and got a stern talking to about my responsibilities and Ministry expectations."

"What?"

"Yeah! I said I'd be quite happy not to attend, but that didn't go down well, either."

"So why didn't you take someone who you liked, you know, as a friend?"

Harry took a deep breath before he decided to go on. "Because the only woman I really wanted to take wasn't available."

"Oh."

Harry took Ginny's hand again and they started walking back towards the hotel. Harry could feel Ginny looking at him regularly.

"So... all of them have just been ... um ... eye candy?"

Harry laughed. "Eye candy ... where did you hear that one?"

"I'm not sure, but I like it!"

"Honestly, after the war was over and things had settled down a bit, I did date a few witches. Not many, but a few."

"What happened?"

"They just didn't work out. I soon realised that I was just trying to find girls to distract me."

"From what?"

"Um, from the fact that I couldn't be with the girl I really wanted. I went out with girls who were totally different from her, and it really was never going to be good. They were all pretty much airheads."

"So, there was someone you really liked?"

"Yeah. Very much."

"Still?"

"Yeah."

"So why, in the name of Merlin, did you suggest this then? Why marry me, you great prat?"

"Look, it's not an issue."

"Yes it is. Do I know her?"

"Uh, yeah, you do."

Harry watched Ginny as she mentally scrolled through the names of whom she thought it might be.

"It's not ... er ... not Hermione, is it?"

"NO! Merlin, no. She's like a sister to me."

"Hannah?"

"No."

"Susan?"

"No."

"Angelina?"

"No."

"Luna?"

"No."

"Malfoy?"

"WHAT? Ginny, come on."

"Who, then?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

"You sure?"

"Yes. I do."

Harry took a deep breath and waited a little while before he quietly spoke. As he spoke, he looked down through his eyelashes at her to see her reaction.

"You."

Harry watched Ginny's face, as what he said sank in. She looked up at him, shocked.

"What?"

"You."

"Me? Since when?"

"Um, I first realised that I fancied you in my sixth year."

"WHAT?" Ginny yelled. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, you were going out with Dean, then Dumbledore died and I had to go away hunting horcruxes. After the final battle, I thought about it, but everyone was upset about Fred and everyone else, and then you went back to school and started dating what's his name ..."

"Alistair."

"Yeah, him."

"That wasn't long or serious."

"I know, but you were away at school. I was going to say something once you had finished school, but I had to go on that mission and when I came back you were back together with Dean. I didn't even know that you two had broken up until yesterday. Ginny, I could never have said anything to you while you were going out with someone else. That wouldn't have been fair."

"So you've fancied me for nearly four years? Does anyone else know?"

"I don't think so."

"I can't believe you never said anything. I didn't have a clue. Is that why you've avoided being at the Burrow?"

"Yeah. It was a little difficult seeing you and Dean together, so I tended to avoid being there when I could."

They had reached the hotel by this stage. Ginny was looking up at him with a gleam in her eye. Harry could feel his heart beating faster just from the look she now had. She reached out and laced her fingers through his and started walking inside and towards their room, pulling him along behind her. He really wished that he had mastered Legilimancy, as he would have loved to know what she was thinking, right at that moment. Once they were inside their room, she turned towards him.

"You know, if you had said something to me, I probably would have dumped Dean on the spot."

"What?" Harry was amazed.

"Well, you remember that I had a crush on you when we first met, don't you?"

Harry all too well remembered the elbow in the butter and the way Ginny was too embarrassed to talk to him. At the time, he had found it embarrassing, but years later he thought she was very cute at that stage.

"Sure I do, but you got over that. Hermione told me that you got over me and moved on."

"I wouldn't say that I got over you. I knew you would never notice me, so I decided to live my life and not be weighed down by a crush. So, I started going out with some boys who were nice and it helped. You and I became friends and that was good. I was so happy to be your friend. It was much better having you in my life as a friend than nothing. So I went out with Michael, Dean and Alistair. They were lovely boys, but they weren't the one."

Harry had been watching Ginny's face as she was telling him this. She looked like the young girl he saved from the Chamber, very unsure of herself and nervous-looking. He saw her take a deep breath and square her shoulders, before she looked into his eyes, continuing her story.

"Deep down inside, my feelings were basically the same. It just wasn't a crush anymore. I've always been attracted to you."

"Gin, you don't have to say this to make me feel better."

"I know. I'm not. I thought seeing that you'd come clean, it would be the best time for me to say something, too."

"So, you have feelings for me, too?" Harry asked quietly.

"Yes. I always have. I just chose to hide them for a while. It helped me grow up, especially in your eyes, I think. If I had kept on acting like I did when I was eleven, there's no way we would have even become friends."

"I don't know. You were pretty cute when you were eleven," teased Harry.

"Merlin! That's just plain embarrassing," she groaned, looking down to the floor. A moment later she quickly looked up with a slightly angry look. "Hey, what do you mean I was cute? So, I'm not cute any more then, hey Potter?"

"Ginny, you're not just cute. I think you are so beautiful. I have for a long time."

They both stood looking at each other. Then, almost as if they had both agreed on it, they moved towards each other, wrapping their arms around each other. Their mouths came together in a tender kiss. Harry moved a hand to the back of her head and ran his fingers through her glorious hair. Ginny's arms stayed around him tightly, holding him close. Very quickly, the kiss started to deepen, with their mouths opening and their tongues playing together. Her hands moved over his back, across his hips and settled on his backside. Harry groaned and started exploring her back with his own hands.

Just then, there was a quick knock on the door. Before they could move or say anything, the door opened to reveal Ron with a shocked look on his face. Hermione was coming down the hallway with a typically annoyed look on her face.

"Ronald, I told you not to disturb them," Hermione said firmly.

Harry still had his arms around Ginny, holding her close. He could feel her tense in his arms.

"You wanted something, Ron?" asked Ginny.

Ron was looking very uncomfortable, standing at the doorway scratching his chin. "Um ... yeah ... sorry. I didn't think you'd be ... um ... "

"No, you don't tend to think, do you?" replied Ginny.

"What's up, mate?" asked Harry. He wasn't too upset with Ron. He would not have minded if he and Ginny were still snogging. Though, it probably was a good thing that they were interrupted before things went too far, too fast.

"We're heading down for dinner. I thought you may want to join us," replied Ron.

Harry looked down at Ginny, who was still in his arms. She was looking right back up at him and nodded.

"Yeah, mate. We'll be down shortly," said Harry.

Ron looked at them questioningly for a while, and when neither Harry nor Ginny moved, he shrugged, turned around and walked out of the door. He was followed down the hall by Hermione.

"I guess we should head down," said Harry.

"Mmm. I am hungry. There's no rush, though. I'm sure hanging around here a little longer will annoy Ron a bit more, which is always a good thing."

"Why do you want to annoy Ron?"

"He barged in here. So I want him to imagine all the things that could be going on up here, while he's waiting."

"You're cruel."

"Only to my brothers when they annoy me."

"Remind me to not get on your bad side," said Harry. "So how long are we making him wait?"

"Ten minutes or so should be enough," stated Ginny. "I'll just go and freshen up a little."

Before she could walk away from him, Harry pulled her against him again and lowered his mouth to meet hers. The kiss was brief, yet passionate.

"I thought we might as well do something that Ron could be imagining us doing!" Harry said.

Ginny chuckled as she walked into their bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, he and Ginny met Ron and Hermione in the bar. Hermione handed Ginny and then Harry a glass of champagne.

"About time," muttered Ron. "We've been waiting for you two so we can get started."

"Congratulations," said Hermione, raising her own glass.

"Yeah. Congratulations," said Ron. "We hope everything goes well for you two."

**-H &G-**

Harry enjoyed the relaxed dinner with Ginny, Ron and Hermione. The hotel had presented them with a bottle of champagne and a small cake to help them celebrate their special day. After dinner, they headed back into the bar and shared a few more drinks. Ginny had even managed to drag him up onto the dance floor. He had to admit that he thoroughly enjoyed holding her in his arms as they swayed together to the music. He was even able to press a few kisses onto her forehead as they danced. In return, Ginny had gently kissed his neck and shoulder.

They headed back up to their room late in the evening and said goodnight to Ron and Hermione, as they disappeared into their room. Harry suddenly felt nervous. He was not really sure what to expect for the rest of the night. They had not had much of a chance to talk, since they had returned from the garden earlier. He had no idea what Ginny was thinking or what she wanted to happen. They really, really needed to talk. As soon as he had closed the door to their room, he turned towards his new wife.

"Ginny, we need to talk about some things."

"Yeah, I guess we do. We didn't get a chance to talk about what comes next, did we?"

"No, we didn't, and to be honest I'm feeling a little confused and nervous right about now."

"Really?"

"Erm, well yeah. We got married today, but not for the usual reasons. Then, after we got married, you weaselled out of me that I've had feelings for you for a while, and then you tell me that you're attracted to me. Next, we have that awesome kiss, which was rudely interrupted by Ron. And, up until now we've been with Ron and Hermione, so we didn't get the chance to talk. When we came upstairs just now, I just didn't know what … oh Merlin … this is just weird," he said, gesturing awkwardly with his hands.

"It doesn't have to be weird, you know," Ginny said softly.

"I thought it'd be easy enough before I told you how I felt. I was going to be a perfect gentleman and just let you take the bed for the night and give you lots of space to do what you want."

Ginny chuckled and pulled a face at him.

"What?" he asked.

"The papers would have a field day with that bit of news. Harry Potter, the perfect gentlemen," she said laughing.

"Oh, shut it, you."

"Okay. I can understand why you're feeling weird. It is a strange situation. Any normal couple would be in bed by now on their wedding night."

"Yeah, but I don't want to force you or rush into anything. We're going to be together every day for a long time. I don't want to do anything to jeopardise our friendship."

"I understand that Harry. I don't want to muck this up either."

"So what should we do?"

"Well… why don't we just do what we're both comfortable with? If either of us is uncomfortable with something, then we tell the other one and we don't do it."

"I suppose that could work. We'd have to be totally honest with each other."

Ginny walked over so that she was standing right in front of him staring into his eyes.

"I promise I will be totally honest with you," she said.

"And I'll be perfectly honest with you, too," he replied.

"Well, good."

Harry and Ginny stood in the middle of their room looking at each other. Ginny eventually broke the silence by yawning.

"Right," Harry said. "Bed for you."

"That's a good idea, but I really don't expect you to be gentlemanly. You have to join me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then. It's probably just as well. That sofa is tiny."


	3. Sunday

Harry woke up slowly on Sunday morning to find himself wrapped around his wife. She was still sleeping soundly, with her back pressed against his chest. The thought of Ginny being his wife, and being able to wake up with her in his arms daily, was a wonderful one. The fact that she had told him that she had feelings for him escalated those wonderful thoughts. He could definitely get used to being close to her like this. Though, being this close to her woke other feelings that were not so easy to hide. Maybe he should extricate himself from this position before she woke up to feel just how aroused her closeness made him. He tried to move, but in the process of moving his arm, he disturbed her. Ginny turned in his arms so that she was facing him and he could feel her breasts against his chest, and that was doing nothing to make him any less aroused.

"Morning," she said sleepily. "What time is it?"

Harry glanced at the bedside clock. "Seven," he replied.

"Why are we awake?"

"I was trying not to disturb you. I was getting up."

"Why?"

"I was awake."

"Well, you're not going anywhere, Mr. Potter."

"And why is that, Mrs. Potter?"

"Because, you haven't said good morning to me properly."

"Really?" he drawled.

"Yes, really."

Ginny then closed the small gap between them and brushed her lips against his. She did not move away and they both continued peppering small, gentle kisses on each other's lips. Those small, gentle kisses eventually deepened to more passionate kisses. Harry's arms tightened around her body, trapping her hands against his chest. Very soon, their mouths were open and he could feel her tongue against his. His hands travelled down her body to find that her nightdress had ridden up during the night and he could feel the bare flesh of her thighs under his hands. Merlin, she felt wonderful, he thought. One of her hands had started moving, too, across his chest, down to his hip and around to his backside. As he brought his hands up, he realised that Ginny was not wearing anything underneath her nightdress. His hands drifted up over her hips to her ribcage. His thumbs then gently rubbed across her taught nipples and they both moaned. "Gin?" he asked hoarsely.

"Yeah?"

"What … Do you….Is this..."

"Oh Merlin, Harry," she said and rolled onto her back, pulling him on top of her.

"Gin. Total honesty, remember?"

"Mmm…," she said kissing her way down from his ear to shoulder.

"Gin?"

"Harry, don't stop."

"Are you sure?"

"Make love to me, Harry."

He groaned and continued kissing her.

**-H &G-**

Ginny was asleep again, curled up against him. Harry was feeling better than he had in ages. How could he not be feeling great, he thought, when he had just made love with the woman of his dreams? The woman he had been in love with for years, and she was now his wife. He gently rolled over and kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Ginny," he whispered.

"Hmmm," she muttered.

Harry tensed a little. He had not planned for her to hear that just yet. He did not want to scare her.

"Harry?" she asked. "Did you say something?"

"Nothing for you to worry about, Gin. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't wake me."

"Oh."

She moved so that they were facing each other. She was looking at him inquisitively. "Do you really love me?"

Harry sighed. How was she able to weasel his feelings out of him so easily, he wondered? "Yeah, I do. I have for ages. I know I said yesterday that I liked you a lot, but I really should have said that I've loved you for years. Because, it's true. I have."

Ginny leaned over and kissed him. "You really should have said something, you know."

"I couldn't. I told you why."

"I understand," she said and then her expression changed. She now looked worried.

"What's wrong?"

"I … I don't know how to reply to what you said."

"You don't need to say anything, Ginny. I don't expect you to. It was more than any of my dreams when you said yesterday that you had feelings for me."

"I pushed all my feelings for you away for so long. I never expected in a million years that you would even fancy me, let alone love me. I know that I'm happy that we've got this chance to be together and I'm amazed that you love me. I think I need to get used to all of this before…"

"Look at me," Harry interrupted. He gently traced her face with a finger. She leaned her head into his palm and sighed. "Tell me how you feel when you are ready. I can wait. And, I don't expect you to be in love with me just because I love you, okay? Now, we had better get ready and go and have some breakfast before Ron gets there and eats everything."

"That's probably a good idea."

**-H &G-**

Harry walked out to the gardens after finishing breakfast. Ron and Ginny were still eating, and Hermione had disappeared a short time ago, but to where, he had no idea. He needed some time to himself to think. Everything that had happened over the past few days had suddenly caught up with him and he needed to process it all. As he walked, he wondered what his life was going to be like now that he was married to Ginny and would be with her every day.

"Harry!" called Hermione. "Harry!"

He was startled from his thoughts by her call, and looked over to a bench where she was sitting, reading. She waved him over, so he walked there slowly, knowing he was about to face an inquisition. As soon as he had sat next to her, Hermione started speaking.

"You and Ginny are cosy this morning," she said with a smirk.

Harry did not reply. He could see that look in Hermione's eye. He had seen it many times at Hogwarts when she wanted to find something out. She usually went rushing off to the library when she got that look.

"I realised yesterday that you've been telling the truth about all those women, haven't you?"

"I have. Surely, you can tell when I'm telling the truth?"

"How long have you been in love with her?"

He sighed. He knew she would keep asking until he said something. "Since sixth year."

"Really?"

"When did you work it out?" he asked.

"Yesterday, when you two kissed after the ceremony. You hid it well then."

"That explains the look you were giving us then."

"Does Ginny know?"

"Yes, I do," said Ginny from beside them. Neither he nor Hermione had seen her approach.

Ginny sat down right next to him and he placed his hand on Ginny's leg. He could feel how tense she was. Ginny was not ready to answer any of Hermione's questions.

"And?" asked Hermione.

"And that's all we're going to say, Hermione. We need time to sort things out together," Ginny replied quite calmly. She then looked at him, placed her hand over his where it still rested on her leg and mouthed her thanks.

Hermione soon stood up and walked away, leaving the newly married pair behind. Harry decided that Hermione knew she was not going to find out anything else from either of them, which was why she had left.

Ginny leaned against him and sighed. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they sat there peacefully and quietly, enjoying each other's presence, until it was time to get ready to leave.

**-H &G-**

The two couples had checked out of the hotel and returned to their various homes, having organised to meet at the Burrow at two o'clock to fill the rest of the Weasleys in on their news.

Once he and Ginny were alone in his flat, he felt awkward and unsure. This was the real beginning of their marriage. Now that they were home, he had no idea what to do next. Ginny was looking around the flat as if she did not know what to do next.

"Welcome home, Ginny," he eventually said.

"Thanks, Harry."

They both stood rather stiffly, facing each other while they talked.

"I guess we'll collect all of your stuff this afternoon and you can really make yourself at home."

"That will be good. Have you got space to put it?"

"The room where you slept last night doesn't have too much in there. It's basically been only used by Ron and Hermione on the odd occasion they've stayed. Teddy has the smaller room at the back, when he's here. I can move some of my stuff around, as needed."

"Okay," she replied. Ginny moved over to one of Harry's armchairs and sat down carefully. Harry watched her every move. She did not look comfortable at all. Her back was straight and she was sitting at the front of the chair.

Harry sat in the other armchair and he sat nearly as awkwardly as his wife. He was trying to think of what to say to break the uncomfortable silence. They had found conversation very easy that morning; why was he feeling so tense just now?

"Well, this is a little awkward," he said quietly.

Ginny looked at him and smiled a little. "Yeah, it is. Why is that?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe it's because we're here, not at some hotel where it's like a different life."

"I guess it's more real here," she replied. "We're going to spend a lot of time here together and alone."

"Mmmm," he replied.

"We can make this work, can't we? It's not going to be weird like this forever, is it?" Ginny was almost pleading with him.

"Sure we can," he said hopefully.

"It'll get easier than this when we get used to being together so much," Ginny said almost as if she were trying to reassure herself, as well as Harry.

"Yeah."

They both looked at each other for a long moment and simultaneously started laughing. As they laughed, they both relaxed into their seats. Eventually, they both calmed down and smiled at each other.

"We're being really silly about this, aren't we?" she said.

"Yeah, we are. We were so comfortable with each other this morning at the hotel. We need to keep it like that."

He stood up and went and kneeled in front of her, gently placing his hands on her knees. She covered his hands with her own and slowly leaned towards him and softly brushed his lips with hers. Harry was just about to return the kiss when a silver lynx patronus appeared in front of him.

"Harry, you are needed at Auror Headquarters, please attend," the lynx said.

Harry sighed. It was his weekend off. He should not have to go in to work. It must be something important.

"Sorry, Gin. I have to go in."

"Hey, it's okay. I …"

Ginny was interrupted by the lynx returning with another message.

"Sorry, Harry. I know it's your weekend off, but it is quite important."

Harry flicked his wand and sent his patronus with a return message. He then turned his attention back to his wife.

"Go on, Harry," she said. "I'll head over to the Burrow and start getting my things organised. You can meet me there when you're finished."

"Okay. Will you let them know?"

"I might wait until you, Ron and Hermione get there. I may need a bit of support. Merlin knows what Mum and Dad will say."

"That's fine. I'd rather be there when they find out."

**-H &G-**

Harry Flooed through to the Auror Office just after Ginny left for the Burrow. He hoped that her family would not be upset or annoy her too much until he got there, so he could help share the news. It was not going to be easy for the two of them, with Ron and Hermione's help, to tell the Weasley family what they had done, let alone for Ginny to have to do it by herself. He wanted to be there to support her. At least Muriel was not scheduled to arrive until the next day.

Kingsley was alone in the office when he arrived, with the news that he would need Harry to step into the role of Head Auror the next day, as Robards, the current head, had come down with a mysterious illness that would keep him away from the Ministry for many months. He needed to fill Harry in on many details so that he would be ready to run the department straight away.

Harry talked with Kingsley for over an hour before he had all the necessary details organised. He looked at the clock and realised that he was due at the Burrow straight away. He excused himself to Kingsley before Apparating there.

**-H &G-**

Harry walked through the gate and into the garden of the Burrow. As he rounded a corner he spied the whole Weasley family, including Aunt Muriel, gathered around, along with Zacharias Smith and another elderly lady. Muriel, Zacharias and the other lady, who Harry presumed was Violet, were on one side of the group, facing Ginny. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood right behind Ginny. They were flanked by the Weasley brothers and their various partners. What were they doing here just now, he thought? Muriel was not supposed to turn up until tomorrow. And now, Ginny was facing them, without him there to help and support her. He started to walk quicker so that he could help his wife as soon as possible. As he moved closer, he could hear Muriel talking.

"Ginevra, Violet and I would like to formally introduce you to Mr. Zacharias Smith," announced Muriel as she waved her hand dramatically towards Zacharias.

Harry watched Zacharias advance upon Ginny with his hand extended. Ginny stood still with her arms crossed. He wished he could see Ginny's face at this point. He could imagine the furious look.

"Oh, there's no need to introduce us. He was only a year ahead of me at Hogwarts. We've met before," Ginny replied.

"Ginevra, I am embarrassed by your lack of manners. This is extremely important. You need to shake the dear boy's hand," huffed Muriel.

Ginny slowly unfolded her arms and shook Zacharias' hand. Muriel and Violet watched this exchange closely, and were visually disappointed at the result of the handshake. They were obviously expecting something dramatic to happen and were bemused that it had not.

Harry had reached the line of Weasley brothers and partners by now. He kept walking until he was beside his wife. Ginny must have sensed his presence as she took his hand without looking at him. Harry quickly glanced behind him to see Bill and Charlie staring at him strangely.

"What went wrong?" Harry heard Violet ask Muriel. The two elderly women had a whispered conversation that included lots of vigorous gesturing.

Zacharias had noticed Harry's presence and was glaring at him.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" he snarled. "This is none of your business."

"Well, actually, Smith, it is." He tried to speak calmly but he knew he sounded more forceful than calm.

Muriel and Violet turned towards him after hearing his and Zacharias' brief conversation.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," said Muriel. "What brings you here? Ronald has boasted that he is friends with you. I did not imagine his boasts would be true."

"Harry is part of our family, Muriel," said Mr. Weasley quietly, but firmly.

The rest of the Weasley family made noises of agreement to Mr. Weasley's statement.

"As lovely as that is, Arthur, there are more important matters at hand," Muriel said. "Violet and I are formalising this contract."

"We would have appreciated you talking to us about this, before you and Violet drew up this contract. It is not fair on our family, especially Ginny, for you to plan our daughter's life for her," said Mr. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley was nodding furiously in agreement at his side.

"It is the job of the elders in a family to make sure that the family is secure. Ginevra is not getting any younger. It's time she settled down. Zacharias is a lovely boy. Violet speaks of him with high regard."

"Speaks of him with high regard," stated Charlie. "Do you know anything about him, Aunt Muriel? Have you even met him before today?"

"I introduced him to your aunt on Friday," said Violet.

Bill growled at this comment and had to be calmed by Fleur.

"Was this before or after you drew up the contract?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"The day after," said Muriel.

"I thought it was best for them to meet before we introduced Zacharias to Ginevra," said Violet.

"You mean you agreed to this contract before you even met the boy?" asked Mrs. Weasley furiously. She was clutching at her husband's hand by this stage and was also trying to hold back the tears.

"Why, yes."

"What?" yelled Bill.

"Then how would you know if he was right for Ginny?" asked Percy.

"She wouldn't," said Hermione sourly.

"Ridiculous," said Fleur.

"It does not matter what you all think. Ginevra is contracted to marry him," said Muriel. She was visibly getting angry by this stage, as could be seen by her shoulders shaking and the glare in her eye.

"I'm not marrying him, Aunt Muriel," said Ginny tensely.

"Oh, my dear, yes you are. It's in this contract, and you and Zacharias have shaken hands on it. Even though your hands did not glow as they were supposed to, it's here on paper. You have to marry him."

"No, she doesn't," said Harry, tightening his grip on Ginny's hand.

"Yes, she does, Mr. Potter," said Violet.

"Yeah," agreed Zachariah. "It's in this contract and there's nothing you can do about it, Potter. For once I've managed to get something over you lot."

Harry looked at Zacharias carefully. Even though he had never got along with Zacharias, he did not realise that the feeling was more than mutual. The look on Zacharias' face was one of anger and achievement. He was obviously over the moon to have foiled Harry. Though, why would he think that he had foiled Harry? Zacharias did not know about Harry's feelings for Ginny. Maybe he was just happy to have foiled Harry's adopted family and friends.

"Hang on," interrupted Bill. "If the bonding didn't work properly when they shook hands, then they aren't betrothed."

"How would you know?" snarled Zacharias.

"We deal with these things at Gringotts," retorted Bill.

"Why wouldn't the bonding work?" asked Percy thoughtfully.

"Is there some reason that she's ineligible?" asked Fleur.

"How could she be ineligible?" asked Charlie.

"Muriel, does the contract have Ginny's name on it?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"No, it says the eldest Weasley maiden. There's only Ginevra, so it applies to her," Muriel replied.

"No, it doesn't, said Harry. He was getting fed up. This was dragging out. It needed to be sorted out as soon as possible.

"Are you trying to tell me there's another Weasley girl that none of us know about?" Zacharias said.

"No, there isn't," snapped Muriel.

"You're not married, Muriel. Why don't you marry him?" asked George.

Harry sniggered at George's comment. So did quite a few of the group behind him.

"George," warned Mr. Weasley. "There's a time and a place."

"Aw, Dad. She could. That would solve all of our problems."

"I'm sure Zacharias would love being with Aunt Muriel," laughed Ron.

"Ronald!" exclaimed his mother.

Muriel was holding her chest with a look of horror on her face. She huffed and puffed a few times before she grabbed hold of Violet's arm. Violet tried to fan Muriel's face, but Muriel batted her hand away.

"I am a widower, not a maiden, George. Please do not act so childishly and suggest otherwise. And Ronald, there is no reason for you to be so rude," ranted Muriel.

"Hey, Smith, why don't you marry Aunt Muriel? She's more in your league than Ginny would ever be," said George.

"Don't be ridiculous, Weasley. Why would I want to marry your aunt?" asked Zacharias.

"What I want to know, is why you're so desperate to marry Ginny," said Charlie.

"Perhaps he realises that there would be no other way he could get a great girl to be his wife," suggested Angelina. "I remember that he wasn't popular with the girls at Hogwarts. I guess he's still having the same troubles."

Harry laughed at Angelina's comment, as did George, Ron and Hermione. Ginny was still quiet and standing tensely at his side. Her furious gaze was directed at Muriel.

"Don't worry, Zacharias, this will work out, you'll see," said Violet, patting him on the shoulder.

"I don't think so," said Ron and Hermione together.

"Why?" asked Muriel and Violet together.

"Isn't it against the law to be married to more than one person?" asked Ginny.

"WHAT?" said the majority of the gathered people.

Everyone was staring at Ginny and quite a few of them, especially the girls, were looking at him as well. They had obviously very quickly figured things out.

"Ginny, are you married?" asked her mother.

"Who are you married to?" asked Charlie at the same time as his mother.

Fleur and Angelina were smiling. "Harry," they both said together.

"You and Harry?" asked Bill.

Harry pulled Ginny close to him and hugged her, trying to protect her from everyone and also to stop her from hexing anyone else.

"You lot knew about this, didn't you?" yelled Zacharias. "You knew about it and Potter married her so I couldn't. Typical: Potter jumping in and ruining the day. Always the one who gets his own way."

"I love Ginny," said Harry.

"Yeah, right," Zacharias snarled.

Muriel walked over and stood between Zacharias and Harry.

"It's okay, dear boy. If they've only married to stop this, then it will be okay, as I doubt they would have consummated the marriage, so it can still be dissolved, and then you and Ginevra can be betrothed," said Muriel.

Hermione spun to look at Harry and Ginny with a look of shock on her face. Apparently this was not something that Hermione had considered. She was worried, Harry could tell. Harry smiled, reassuring at her, trying to get the message quietly to her that she need not worry. At the same time, he really did not want to admit in front of all the Weasleys that he and Ginny had in fact consummated their marriage. He knew how his new brother's-in-law would react. He subtly pulled his wand out.

"Aunt Muriel, you may be right," said Ginny, "but unfortunately for you, Harry and I have consummated our marriage. You won't be able to do anything to dissolve it without our permission."

Harry glanced around. The Weasley brothers had looks directed at him that should scare him. Angelina, Fleur and Hermione were gathered in a group, smiling, discussing and gesturing to Ginny and himself. Mrs. Weasley had clutched her husband's arm and had tears flowing down her cheeks. Muriel and Violet were looking backwards and forwards from each other to Ginny and him. Zacharias was standing very still, shaking, with his wand clenched in his fist.

Somehow, Harry knew what was about to happen before it actually did. Zacharias started casting spells at the group of Weasleys. Luckily, to start with, none of the spells were too damaging, lethal or accurate. Though he was firing off spells pretty quickly. Percy's wife, Audrey, was hit by a Body-Binding spell and Mrs. Weasley was hit with an Impediment Jinx. As the remainder of the group were reaching for their wands, Harry managed to place a huge shield between Zacharias and everyone else. Spell after spell from Zacharias bounced off the shield. Harry thought back to his fifth year at Hogwarts and wished that he had not taught all of these spells to the D.A. It would have made things much easier at this time if he had not.

The shield that he was casting was a big one that he had been mastering during his training sessions at the Ministry. It was good in that it kept a large group safe from being attacked. The only problem was that it took a lot of energy to hold, and no one except him could fire through it from either side. As Zacharias was still casting spell after spell, he needed to stop him. He held his wand firmly in one hand, and with the other, he nonverbally cast a Stunning Spell. This, unfortunately, depleted his energy further and he could feel the shield start to drop. He fought to keep it in place, but he could feel himself getting light-headed and then everything went dark.


	4. Monday

Harry gradually felt the fog clear from his head and carefully opened his eyes. The bright lights above him caused him to quickly shut them again.

Where on earth was he? Why was he here? What happened? He listened and tried to figure out where he was from the sounds around him. He could hear people talking in the distance, but there was not much noise near him. There was a ticking sound that was probably a clock and the very faint noise of someone breathing.

He opened his eyes again, but this time he turned his head so he was not looking straight at the bright lights. As he opened his eyes he could just make out the shape of a body lounged in an armchair next to the bed where he lay. The body was topped by a lot of red hair so it could only be Ginny. He summoned his glasses and once they were on he could properly identify that it was indeed Ginny Weasley next to him. Then he remembered: no, not Ginny Weasley, Ginny Potter, his wife.

"Gin?" he croaked.

"Hey," she replied, softly rousing from her light slumber. "You're finally back with us."

"Where am I?"

"St. Mungo's."

"What happened?"

Ginny stood up and situated herself so that she was leaning her elbows right next to him on the bed. "You missed the best bit when you passed out. Apparently you drained yourself holding that shield up. Kingsley said that no one else can even cast it for a couple of seconds without collapsing. You held it up for minutes. No wonder you've been out all night."

"All night! What time is it? Do you know if I'll have to stay here long?" he asked in a rush. He had been injured a few times while working as an Auror, and had tried to avoid coming here unless it was absolutely necessary.

"It's about eight o'clock," she replied, glancing at her watch. "Seeing that you're awake early, I believe they'll let you go this morning."

"Good. I hate it here."

"No one likes it here, Harry."

"So, what happened to everyone? Was anyone hurt? I remember seeing some of your family get hit."

Ginny shook her head at him and chuckled. "My family's fine. Mum and Audrey got hit, but it wasn't anything bad. They went back to the Burrow with everyone else. The healers didn't want too many people hanging around here so they made everyone leave. I said I'd let them know how you are. Ron and Hermione said they may come in a bit later."

"I'm glad they're okay," he said, sighing with relief. He did not know if he would cope well if any of Ginny's family had been hurt because he had not been quick enough to put up a shield. "What happened with Smith?"

"Well, you managed to Stun him. I didn't know you could do wandless magic. You've kept that a bit of a secret."

"That's the whole idea, Ginny. The element of surprise," he said.

"Well, after you Stunned Zacharias, dad went and Floo called Kingsley and he brought some Aurors. They brought Zacharias around to question him, and he went nuts. Luckily, he didn't have a wand on him, 'cause I think he would have kept trying to hex everyone, if he did."

"What did he do?" he asked. He could tell during the confrontation yesterday that Zacharias Smith was acting oddly. He was very interested in what had happened after he had collapsed the previous afternoon.

"He yelled and swore at everyone, stomped around like he was a child having a tantrum, and he tried to hit Charlie, of all people."

"Who in their right mind would try and take on Charlie? He's huge," he said amazed.

"Well that's it," replied Ginny, who was obviously eager to tell him the rest of the news from the previous day. "He's not in his right mind. They've brought him here to St. Mungo's for observation and analysing."

"You're kidding?"

"No. They believe that he has some kind of obsession problem. Apparently he's been going to all of my Harpies games and he decided that I was perfect for him," Ginny said, shuddering. "Ew!"

Harry chuckled at Ginny's displeasure of Smith's affections. Though, he could not blame him in some ways. Ginny was something special. "How did they find that out?"

"Well, they eventually calmed him down, and then he saw me sitting next to you, where you had collapsed, and started telling me how much he loved me and that he'd do anything for me to be with him. After that, Kingsley got one of the Aurors to bring some Veritaserum and they questioned him then and there."

"Really? Why didn't they take him in for questioning? That's what we usually do?" he asked.

"Kingsley wanted answers straight away. So did everyone else. We were all a little worried for a while that something bad had happened to you, so Kingsley sorted it out straight away while everyone was still there."

"So what did they find out from him?" he asked, eager to find out all of the details.

"You know he's not really related to Violet? He overheard Muriel and Violet arguing in Diagon Alley a few weeks ago, about the tiara. He heard them mention Bill and Fleur's wedding and realised that Muriel was a Weasley. He listened in on their argument and decided that he could use them to get me."

"What did he do?" Harry asked.

"He followed Violet home and put some kind of Confundus Charm on her or something like that, so that she believed that he was her great-great nephew. He then talked her into making a deal with Muriel so that he could marry me."

"Didn't she want the tiara, though?"

"Yes, but when he Confounded her he made it so that she thought his happiness was more important than her having the tiara."

"Wow," he said. He was becoming more and more amazed as Ginny continued her tale. He could not believe that Zacharias would go to so much effort to organise all of this.

"Then he went to Muriel and Confounded her so that she would suggest a marriage contract to Violet as an exchange for the tiara. Muriel said afterwards that she would never make a marriage contract for any of her family."

"Merlin, he's got himself in a whole lot of trouble then."

"Oh, yeah. Kingsley said that if he ever gets out of St. Mungo's, he'll be tried and put in Azkaban."

Harry lay there thinking about what he had missed the previous afternoon, when he suddenly realised something. "How and when did I get here?"

Ginny looked at him sheepishly. "After one of the Aurors checked you properly when she got there, we realised that you weren't in any major trouble, health wise, so I sat with you while everyone else rushed around getting things for Kingsley, and so on. Once they took Smith away, we brought you here."

"Why did I have to come here?" he asked. Surely he would have been okay resting at the Burrow.

"Kingsley insisted on it."

"Of course he did. So what's happening back at the Burrow?"

"I'm not really sure, to tell you the truth. I stayed here with you all night. I believe that Mum and Dad are getting everyone, including Muriel and Violet, over today to sort things out."

"You stayed here all night?" he asked.

Ginny nodded in agreement.

"You didn't have to do that. Those chairs can't be comfortable," he said. He had not imagined that Ginny would have stayed the night with him. Though, he had to admit that if it were her in the hospital, he would have stayed with her all night.

"I couldn't leave my husband here by himself all night now, could I?" she said with a smile. She reached out and took his closest hand in hers and squeezed it.

Harry almost felt a little tug at his heart at this. Ginny would not have stayed unless she really wanted to, would she? He gave her hand a gentle squeeze back as thanks for her staying with him.

"Have you talked to your family at all?"

"Not really. Mum had a quick talk with me to find out if what we said was true."

"What?" he asked nervously.

"Oh, the marriage bit, not the sex bit. She really didn't seem too keen to discuss that, thank Merlin."

"Good. I can't say that I'm particularly looking forward to facing your brothers, though. The looks on Bill's and Charlie's faces were downright scary. If I have to face all of them...hmm, I might have to practise that shield a little more. It might come in handy."

"Hey, don't worry about them. We were married when we had sex. They couldn't ask for better than that, really!"

"I'm not so sure. I'm sure your brothers would prefer that you lived like a nun. Believe me; I've heard stories of what they would like to do to your boyfriends. I really don't want that happening to me."

"They can just go and get their own lives and leave you and me alone, or there will be bat bogies."

Harry laughed at that and hoped she was correct. He looked over at Ginny to see her glancing at her watch.

"Do you have training today?" he asked.

"Yeah, at nine. I was going to Floo Gwenog and let her know that I can't make it today, but I haven't had a chance."

"Gin, go. Go to training. I'll be fine," he said. He did not want her to lose her spot on the starting side because of him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Ginny. I might go into the office when I get out of here."

"Kingsley said that you don't have to go in. He said he'd cover for you," she said, looking at him curiously. "Why would he have to cover for you? Surely there are enough Aurors there that they wouldn't miss you for one day."

"I didn't get the chance to tell you why Kingsley called me in yesterday, did I," he said.

"We didn't get a chance to say anything at all to each other. It was such a mess. So what happened?"

"Robards, my boss, has come down with some strange illness and will be off work for months. Kingsley has made me head of the Auror Office while he's away."

Ginny looked at him excitedly. "That's big news, isn't it?"

"I guess so."

"You must be the youngest to become head of an office in years."

'Probably. I haven't really had a chance to think about it. I left the office in a rush and went straight to the Burrow," he said. "I was so worried when I got there and everyone else was there. I wanted to be there with you when Zacharias arrived. You shouldn't have had to face that alone."

"You weren't that far behind him. Don't worry, Harry, you were there for the important bits. Are you sure that you will be okay here by yourself?"

"I'll be fine, I promise," he said truthfully.

"Okay, then. I finish training at two o'clock. We need to catch up with everyone at the Burrow this afternoon. Shall we meet there just after two?"

Harry gave her hand that was still in his another squeeze and smiled up at her. He loved that he could make plans to meet her now. Knowing that Ginny would be around to meet him at the end of a day was definitely a pleasant thought. "That sounds great, Gin. I'm looking forward to it."

"Even if my brothers are there," she said with a wry smile.

"Merlin!" he said. "Don't remind me."

Ginny laughed and leaned down and gave him a kiss which he happily returned.

"It'll be fine, Harry. Don't worry about those prats, okay?"

"Okay," he said in reply. "You better get to training."

Ginny glanced at her watch and jumped up. Again, she leaned over and gave Harry a brief kiss, before heading to the door. As she walked through the door to Harry's room she turned and blew Harry a kiss. Harry smiled and waved goodbye to her.

**-H &G-**

Harry was kept in St. Mungo's for another few hours after Ginny left to go to training. He spent the time pondering all the news that Ginny had told him regarding Zacharias Smith. It was unbelievable that Zacharias was so desperate to have Ginny in his life that he would go to so much trouble and then for it all to fall flat. Even at his worst, when he had to see Ginny and Dean happily together, he had never contemplated doing anything as drastic. Well, except for asking Ginny to marry him to escape being contracted to Smith, he thought with a smile.

As soon as he was released from St. Mungo's, Harry went straight into his office to find Kingsley sitting at his desk. Kingsley looked up and shook his head when Harry walked into the room.

"What are you doing here, Harry? I told Ginny to tell you that you did not have to come in today."

"I'm fine really. They made me rest for a few hours after I woke up to make sure that I'm okay. I'm sure they ran every test possible before they let me leave."

"I'm not letting you stay. You need to go and sort out things at the Burrow. There are a couple of males there that aren't particularly happy with you. I'm not sure what their actual problem is, but they were talking about ways to hurt someone because they had done something unacceptable to their baby sister. I'm presuming that someone is you, seeing that their baby sister in now your wife." Kingsley had a smile on his face even though he was trying to sound disapproving. Harry could tell from the smile that Kingsley was more amused than disapproving.

"She really didn't want to be with Smith forever, so I offered her an escape."

"Well, it was a good idea in theory, Harry, but will the pair of you be happy together?"

"We hope so. To be honest with you, Kingsley, I've loved her for years and she told me her feelings for me never really disappeared, so we're going to do our best to be happy together."

"I did notice in the past that even though you were pictured with many young witches, you never spent a lot of time with any of them, and you always left alone from those Ministry events."

"Yeah, well," he said, feeling rather embarrassed that Kingsley had noticed all of that. "Ginny wasn't available, so I'd have been much happier coming alone, but I wasn't allowed so I …"

"I understand. I could see something wasn't quite right, so I hoped that you would eventually find someone to be happy and comfortable with. Let's hope Ginny is that person for you and that you're that person for her."

"I do, too, Kingsley," Harry replied. He was surprised that Kingsley had noticed what no one else had and was glad that he was supporting his and Ginny's marriage. It was a good feeling to have the support and friendship of Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Kingsley pointed at the door. "Get out of here. I'll see you tomorrow, presuming that you're in one piece!" he joked.

Harry laughed and headed back out of the office.

**-H &G-**

Harry was extremely worried as he walked towards the Burrow. He knew that all of the Weasley boys were going to be here at some stage today and he really did not know what they were going to do to him. He knew why Ginny had let everyone know that they had had sex; he just wished that her brothers, in particular, did not have to find out that way. They were not going to make things easy for him.

He had chosen to Apparate to the Burrow instead of using the Floo, so that he would be prepared going into the Burrow. If he Flooed in, he knew that he would be disoriented and that would give anyone there an advantage over him. He had to treat this as he would an Auror mission, otherwise he could - no, would - end up in a mess.

As he opened the door to the kitchen of the Burrow, he stopped to calm himself. _Why did I decide to face them while Ginny was at training? Because, you are a man and you are not scared of them. You love Ginny and have done nothing wrong._ After a short time, he fully opened the door and walked in. There, sitting at the kitchen table were, Bill and Charlie. They turned towards him as the door opened, and when they realised who had walked in, Harry could see gleams appearing in their eyes. Here we go, he thought, as he prepared himself for what was coming.

The two brothers rose together and advanced upon him until they were just close enough to look imposing. They were both taller and sturdier than he was which was a little unnerving for Harry. He took a deep breath and stood firm. He was not going to show any signs of nerves or weakness.

"Ah, Potter," said Bill as he rubbed his hands together almost gleefully.

"Bill," Harry replied nodding his head at the eldest Weasley. He then turned to the second eldest Weasley and nodded to him, "Charlie."

"Well, if it isn't our new brother-in-law," said Charlie.

"We do need to welcome him to the family properly," said Bill far too cheerfully.

 _Here we go_ , thought Harry. _What have they got planned to scare me?_ He was not going to let them scare him. He knew that his feelings for Ginny were true, and that none of her brothers could scare him away, especially as he now had a good chance to build something real with Ginny.

"Well, that's really nice of you, Bill. I can't wait to hear how you intend to do that," he said almost too happily.

Bill looked at Harry with a slightly disbelieving look, like he could not believe that Harry knew what they were up to. He noticed that Charlie was frowning at him and had crossed his arms in a very defensive position.

"Well, Harry. To welcome you, I believe we might need to make a trip into Gringotts, where we might need to go down to one of the deeper vaults."

Harry nodded along with Bill's ideas. This was definitely one of the things he remembered from previous discussions he had overhead when Ginny was going out with Dean. He knew that Dean was never taken down into the lower sections of Gringotts, but the threat had been made. He turned to Charlie, ready to hear what he had to add. He knew it would be something to do with dragons.

"I'll have to welcome him by getting that dragon that Gringotts has been requesting to guard those older and lower vaults. Bill, I think I can get it there just before you take Harry down there," said Charlie, who was sounding calm and reasonable, but Harry could tell by the glint in his eyes that he was not feeling either of those two. He was out to really protect his little sister.

Harry laughed to himself before he spoke to the two eldest Weasley brothers. "That sounds great, fellas, but I've already done that before. I'm sure you heard about it. I think it was in _The Daily Prophet_ , but there was a lot of news at the time so you may have missed it. I had to go down there before I faced Voldemort, and if you remember: Ron, Hermione and I had to get out of there fairly quickly, so we did it on the back of a dragon."

Bill's and Charlie's faces were a picture of frustration as he spoke. It amused Harry that he could make these two accomplished wizards feel like this. He wondered what they were going to come up with next. He watched them look at each other and mutter to each other quietly before they turned back to him.

"Right, Potter," said Bill. "You had better have good intentions regarding Ginny."

Charlie then continued, "Otherwise your life won't be worth living."

Harry was just about to answer when George and Ron appeared through the door.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" asked George. "Oh, is it time to threaten Harry with all those dastardly plans we've had for all of Ginny's boyfriends?"

Ron started laughing and caught Harry's eye. Harry grimaced at his best friend, who gave him a wink.

"Oh they've already told me they're going to take me down to the bottom of Gringotts and make me come face-to-face with a dragon. I reminded them that I've done that before."

Ron, who was still laughing, placed his arm across his stomach and collapsed on the floor, now roaring with laughter. George looked at Bill and Charlie and then at Harry and started to chuckle. Harry decided he needed to continue while the ball was still in his court.

"So, George, what WWW products are you going to test on me? The usual ones that you have talked about in the past, or do you have something new?"

George shook his head at Harry and continued to chuckle.

"Ron?" asked Harry, looking at his friend who was still on the floor. Ron just waved his hand in response, basically telling him to forget about it.

Bill and Charlie were still standing shoulder to shoulder with their arms crossed, not looking very happy with either of their younger brothers' help in scaring Harry. Bill had his mouth open ready to speak, when Percy walked in.

"What in the name of Merlin is going on here?" Percy asked after looking at his brothers in their various positions around the kitchen.

George was the first to answer. "Well, when Ron and I arrived, Bill and Charlie were welcoming Harry to the family."

Percy took a little time before speaking. "Well, you may be welcoming him, but I'm definitely not."

Harry blinked at Percy's comment. It was true that he had never gotten along well with Percy, but since the final battle they had been civil with each other. Percy seemed to have the same attitude with him now as he did when Harry had been in his fifth year at Hogwarts. Harry noticed that Bill and Charlie were even looking at Percy warily. Ron was looking at Percy with a look of disgust and George looked shocked.

"He's nothing but bad news. I don't know how he conned Ginevra into running off with him, but I know that he is no good for her at all," Percy continued.

"Why would you think that, Percy?" asked Harry in wonder. He was astounded that Percy would think so badly of him.

"You're nothing but a womaniser. Why would I think that someone like you would be good for my sister?"

"How do you know that I'm a womaniser?"

"You're always in the news with a different woman by your side. What else am I supposed to think?"

"Just because you see that, doesn't mean that's what is actually true," replied Harry.

"So what is the truth?" asked Charlie.

"The truth is that I've been in love with Ginny for years," Harry started. He could see that he had really gotten everyone's undivided attention with that comment, even Ron's. "As she was always going out with someone else, I never felt that I could tell her. So, for all those Ministry events, I had to take someone, otherwise I would be severely frowned at and chastised. Seeing that I couldn't go with the woman I really wanted to, I usually prayed that I would be sent on assignment, so I wouldn't have to go at all. That usually didn't happen, so I used to find a witch at the last moment. I didn't spend a lot of time with them and I always went home alone. I have never been with any of those women I was pictured with, never."

"Is that the truth?" asked Ron.

"Yeah, mate, it is."

"Well, that explains a lot," said Ron. "Hermione always thought it was strange that you were seen with so many women. We never really thought you were that kind of person."

Bill and Charlie were looking curiously at him. Bill was the first to speak. "Is that really the truth?"

"I swear it is," Harry replied, quickly looking Bill straight in the eye.

The two eldest Weasley children looked at each other for a long time before nodding and shrugging at each other.

"All right then," said Charlie.

"But, you better look after Ginny, or there will be trouble," said Bill.

Before he could answer, a soft voice was heard from the doorway.

"He will," said Ginny. She walked over and put her arm around him before facing her brothers. "What have you lot been doing to Harry?"

All of her brothers bar one looked a little ashamed to have been caught by her.

"I can't believe that you believe all his crap," shouted Percy. "He's a womaniser of the worst kind. He's done something to Ginny to make her believe all of this. He just wants her to…"

Harry raised his wand and pointed it straight at Percy. He looked at his wife and saw her wand levelled at Percy, too. Ron and George were both looking worriedly between Harry, Ginny and Percy. Bill and Charlie were reaching for their own wands.

"What is going on here?" came Mr. Weasley's voice from the doorway. He was standing there with a shocked look on his face. Behind him were Mrs. Weasley, Aunt Muriel and Violet looking confused.

"Harry has bewitched Ginevra and I cannot stand for it," said Percy, pointing his own wand at Harry.

"Percy, lower your wand. You, too, Harry and Ginny. This is not acceptable in my kitchen. You will treat each other with love and respect. We are all family," said Mrs. Weasley firmly.

Harry and Ginny lowered their wands slowly. Harry kept his eye on Percy, who seemed a little volatile. Percy started to lower his wand but then changed his mind.

Percy kept his wand trained on Harry and yelled, "Stupefy!"


	5. Monday continued...

Harry wandlessly and silently cast a small shield that protected himself and those close to him. At the same time, Bill Disarmed Percy and Charlie tackled him. The thought that Ginny's eldest brothers were more than happy to quickly stick up for him and help him meant a lot to Harry.

Ginny walked over so that she was standing over Percy and pointed her wand at his nose. Charlie quickly got out of his sister's way so that she had no obstacles. "How dare you say things about my husband and me that you have absolutely no idea about." She then cast her infamous Bat Bogey Hex on him. Percy started rolling around on the floor, clutching his nose.

"Ginny, that's enough," Mrs. Weasley said from the doorway.

Ginny looked at her mother for a moment and then stopped the Hex. Percy slowly stopped rolling around and gradually got to his feet to be greeted by his mother's wand point exactly where Ginny's had been not so long ago.

Harry watched Mrs. Weasley and knew by the look on her face that Percy was in serious trouble. He took a couple of steps back and noticed that the others had as well.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Mrs. Weasley said forcefully.

"Mother, he's…"

"Do not start with that. You weren't here on Friday. You don't understand the situation at all. There is absolutely no way that Harry bewitched Ginny," said Mrs. Weasley. As she spoke, she jabbed her wand into Percy's chest so that he kept jumping back every so often.

Mr. Weasley came and stood next to his wife and looked at his third son with a face that Harry hoped he would never have directed at himself.

"Percy, you have some apologising to do. We are all extremely disappointed with your behaviour. This is no way to treat your family, and yes, I do mean Harry. He's always been a part of this family."

Ginny had come to stand by Harry as her father had been speaking and had squeezed his hand reassuringly at the last part of her dad's speech. He looked down at her and smiled at her, feeling grateful that her parents were obviously not too upset about the weekend's happenings.

Percy cleared his throat and looked around at his family who were gathered about before speaking. "Mother, Father, I am sorry, but I was honestly looking out for Ginny. From what I've seen from magazines and papers, I thought that Harry would hurt Ginny by going and looking for other women."

Harry growled at that comment and started moving towards Percy before Ginny grabbed hold of his arm and held him back. Once he had stopped moving, she ran her hand up and down his arm, which succeeded in calming him down.

"That's no reason to hurt Harry, Percy," said Mr. Weasley. "And there are other people in here that you need to be apologising to."

"I know," said Percy. He turned to face Harry and Ginny and continued speaking. "I'm sorry, Harry; and I'm sorry, Ginny. I really am. It's just that I really didn't get a chance to look after you and help you as you grew up, Ginny. I know it's my own fault for not paying much attention to you at Hogwarts and then I left the family, which I truly regret, let me tell you. So, having missed Ginny and Ron, especially, growing up, I felt I needed to be here for my family now. I wasn't sure that Ginny marrying Harry was the right thing for her, so I really was trying to help, in my own way."

The gathered Weasley family stood staring at Percy. Not a sound was made by any of them until Ginny moved towards him. She walked over to him and gave him a hug.

"You are a daft prat, Percy. Do you realise that?" she asked. "Honestly, I can stick up for myself and I wouldn't have married Harry if I didn't want to or if I didn't think it was a good idea. And really, as Dad said before, Harry is a part of this family. He would never try to hurt or trick any of us."

After that, Mrs. Weasley hugged Percy. "You silly boy," she said. "Though, I must say that I'm glad that your intentions were from the heart."

Mr. Weasley came and patted his third son on the back. "Percy, I'm glad you're trying to make up for lost time and look after your sister, but please, talk to us or one of your brothers or sister before you do anything drastic next time."

"All right, Dad," replied Percy.

Harry moved over to Percy and shook his hand, but soon retreated, still not able to totally forgive and trust him just yet. It would take a while before he felt comfortable around that particular brother-in-law again.

Mrs. Weasley had turned her attention to her other sons while Harry was with Percy. From her tone of voice, Harry could tell that she was not particularly happy with them either.

"Where are your wives, fiancées, and girlfriends? They were meant to be here, too," she said.

"Ah, yes," said Bill. "They will be here shortly. We told them to come a little later."

"Hmm," said Ginny, walking over to Bill and pointing her finger at his chest. "You wanted some time to get at Harry without them here. You knew that they wouldn't let you scare and torture him, so you didn't want them around."

"Gin, we're just looking out for you," said Charlie, who was trying to smile innocently.

"As I have said many times before, I can look after myself," Ginny replied.

Harry moved so that he was standing beside Ginny and put his arm around her shoulders. At the same time Bill backed away. "Look, Ginny, it's okay, really. I expected this reaction. I've heard them discuss these sorts of things when you were going out with Dean. I knew what they were going to say, and just like you, I can look after myself."

Bill and Charlie were looking at him curiously, as if they could not quite believe that Harry knew what they were up to all of the time. George was grinning at him and Ron came over and slapped him on the back.

"If only I knew then that letting you sit in on those conversations would come back and bite me on the arse…"

"Ronald!" Muriel exclaimed from the doorway.

Everyone turned to face Muriel in shock. They had all totally forgotten that she and Violet were there.

"Sorry," mumbled Ron.

"Right, as soon as the rest of the women folk have arrived, we will discuss the marriage contract," said Mr. Weasley. "For now, boys, leave your sister and Harry alone."

-H&G-

Once Fleur, Hermione, Angelina and Audrey had arrived, everyone gathered in the sitting room of the Burrow and looked expectantly at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Muriel.

"To begin with, does everyone know the basic details from yesterday, especially regarding Zacharias," said Mr. Weasley. When everyone nodded he continued. "I got an update from Kingsley this afternoon. Zacharias will be staying in St. Mungo's for an undetermined time. It seems that he's not quite with it, mentally, I mean. They will need to assess him over a long period of time before making any decisions. If he ever leaves St. Mungo's he will be tried and then sentenced. If that's the case, all of us will need to give evidence."

Percy hesitantly raised his hand, almost afraid to be seen butting in. "Excuse me; I'm just wondering why Minister Shacklebolt has to deal with this. Surely it should be the Auror Office looking into this, not Minister Shacklebolt. Why aren't you speaking to Robards?"

"Well, Percy, it doesn't really make a difference as long as someone is on top of it all. Though, if you are that interested, I was told by Kingsley that Robards is on extended leave due to ill health. His replacement wasn't available today," said Mr. Weasley, looking pointedly at Harry.

Percy did not seem to notice his father's look. "Well, that's not good enough. A head of department should always be available for important matters such as this."

Harry glared at Percy. "I'm sorry, Percy, that I was in St. Mungo's, unconscious, and couldn't be reporting to your father."

Everyone in the room turned to Harry and looked at him in disbelief. Their looks varied from open-mouthed, shocked looks, to looks of awe. Harry noticed that Ginny's was one of pride.

"You … you're … you're the new head of the Auror Office?" Percy stuttered.

Harry only nodded in response. Hermione quickly crossed the room to give him a congratulary hug. Everyone else gave exclamations of congratulations except for Percy who was still shocked.

Once everyone had settled down, Mr. Weasley continued with the discussion about the contract.

"Now, with regards to the contract that Muriel and Violet drew up…"

"Were forced to draw up, you mean," said Muriel stiffly. Violet nodded in agreement.

Harry could tell that both ladies were mortified that they had been used and tricked by Zacharias. He doubted that they would be very trusting of anyone ever again.

"Well, yes, you were forced to draw up," Mr. Weasley agreed before continuing, "Seeing that the contract was made up illegally and against Muriel's and Violet's will, it is technically null and void."

Everyone sat up and looked a lot happier at this news. Harry started to feel a small bundle of worry in the bottom of his stomach.

"So no one here needs to worry about it then," said Bill, who was sitting with his arm around Fleur. "Not even if we happen to have girls?"

"No. That wouldn't have been a problem anyway," said Mr. Weasley.

"Why?" asked Fleur.

"The contract was only for five years," stated Hermione.

"It could have been used against us, you realise," said Bill.

"How?" asked Hermione.

"I talked to the goblins at Gringotts on Friday. They said that if Smith had seen the parents of any Weasley girls during those five years and had requested their hand in marriage, even if the wedding was not going to happen soon afterwards, the contract would have been valid."

"So what should we do now?" asked Mrs. Weasley, who was looking concerned.

"The contact is null and void," said George. "We don't have to worry about it."

"Well, technically it's not null and void yet," said Hermione.

'How's that?" asked Charlie.

"The official contract is still here, in paper form," said Percy. "That means it technically could still be used if Muriel and Violet agree."

"What?" yelled various people around the room.

Muriel and Violet looked at each other and then at the room full of Weasleys.

"That's ridiculous," said Ginny. "Surely something can be done?"

"Of course there is," said Hermione. When everyone looked at her expectantly she continued, "Seeing that it was made illegally, Muriel and Violet can jointly dispose of it and then it will be legally invalid. Actually, it would be forgotten about totally."

Mrs. Weasley turned to Muriel and Violet. "You are going to do that, aren't you? You can't let any of my granddaughters be forced into marriage with that … that …"

"Arse?" finished Ron.

To Harry's surprise, Mrs. Weasley did not remonstrate Ron for his language; she _nodded_ in agreement.

"Hang on," said Harry. "Zacharias Smith isn't a relative of Violet's at all, is that right?"

"That's right," Violet agreed.

"Well it wouldn't be Smith that they'd have to marry," he continued.

Everyone turned to Violet, looking intently at her.

"Do you have a great-great nephew?" asked George.

"Well, yes, I suppose I do," replied Violet. "I think his name starts with D. David … no, that's not it. Damien … no, ah, Draco."

"Noooooooooo," screamed Harry, Ron, George, Hermione and Ginny.

"Malfoy?" asked Angelina in horror.

"Yes, that's him," said Violet.

Mrs. Weasley stood up quickly and walked over to Violet so that she was standing over her, looking quite scary. "You will destroy the contact, won't you?" she said loudly and firmly.

Violet looked at Muriel, who glanced around the room. Everyone had pale faces at the thought of anyone having to marry Malfoy. They were all watching Muriel and Violet expectantly, ready to hear what she had to say.

"If that's what you want, then we will destroy it. Won't we, Violet?"

"Oh, yes. We don't want to cause any more trouble," Violet said.

"I should hope so," said Percy.

Hermione looked thoughtful. "This is an unacceptable situation. I think I will have to do some research into marriage contracts and try to stop this kind of thing happening again."

"Good idea," said Mr. Weasley.

Muriel stood up and gestured for Violet to join her. "Arthur, will you bring that contract over and place it on the floor." Once the scroll of parchment was placed on the floor, Muriel and Violet pointed their wands at it and shouted, "Reducto." The parchment burst into flames before disappearing into ash.

"Is that it done properly?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

Bill, Hermione and Mr. Weasley looked at each other and nodded. Everyone started cheering.

"Well, zat is good, then," said Fleur. "Bill and I have news."

Everyone immediately stopped cheering and looked at Bill and Fleur expectantly.

"We're having a baby. She's due in six months," said Bill.

Mrs. Weasley burst into tears and grabbed Bill and Fleur in a hug. "You're having a girl?" When Bill and Fleur both nodded, she started sobbing more.

Everyone else, except for Harry, started jumping and dancing around, cheering for Bill's and Fleur's daughter-to-be and for the fact that she wouldn't have to marry Zacharias Smith or Malfoy. Harry collapsed into a chair in the corner.

Now that the contract was gone, Ginny did not have to be married. Harry was now worried that maybe she would not want to be married to him any more. The more he thought about it, the more he realised that Ginny would not have even considered going out with him let alone marrying him unless the contract, legal or not, had come about. She would never have admitted that she had feelings for him or wanted to be with him except for the contract. He sat there for a long time, in the corner, quietly, totally oblivious to everyone celebrating around him. Eventually he decided that he needed to give her the option of getting out of this marriage, whether he wanted to or not. There was no way that he would be happy if Ginny was unhappy with their relationship.

-H&G-

"Ginny, can we talk?" he asked rather tensely a while later. "It would be better if we were nowhere near anyone else, so we can't be interrupted."

"Is everything okay?" she replied with a worried look upon her face.

"I think we need to talk, especially after everything that has happened."

"Of course we can. Let's get out of here. We'll go back to your … I mean, our flat," she said smiling at him.

Harry nodded and went straight for the door. He was not looking forward to this conversation, but he needed to give her the option. He started to slowly walk towards the boundary of the Burrow. In some ways he wanted to have his say quickly, to get it over and done with, but he also wanted to delay, just in case she did want her freedom and this would be the last chance that he would have to be her husband and a part of her life.

He reached the boundary and there was no sign of Ginny. He stopped and leaned on the gate to wait for her. Just as put his weight on the gatepost, Ginny came out of the door and hurriedly looked around for him. When she finally saw him, she started running towards him with her wonderful hair flowing behind her. He took in the sight of her as she drew closer and closer to him. He really wanted to be a major part of her life. Even after two days, he did not know how he would cope without her being by his side as his partner in life.

When she reached his side, she grabbed hold of his arm and Apparated them back to the flat. He was still gasping for breath at the surprise quickness of her getting them home, when she turned and faced him with a determined look on her face.

"All right, Harry, what's going on? You're acting funny and I want to know what's causing it."

Harry took her hand and led her to one of his armchairs, where she sat down. He kneeled in front of her, so that they were in a similar position as they were the previous day when Kingsley's Patronus had arrived.

"Gin, there's something I need to say to you, a chance I need to give you," he said slowly and carefully. As he spoke he slowly looked up from the ground to look into her beautiful brown eyes.

"Harry, you…"

"Ginny, please just let me say this. I don't know if I'll be able to say this if you interrupt me."

Ginny nodded and he continued talking.

"All right, now that the contract has been destroyed by Muriel and Violet, the reason for us getting and being married has gone. I know that if Muriel and Violet had never drawn up that contract, we would never have thought to even try to go out, let alone get married this weekend. So, what I'm trying to say is that if you want to go back to how things were before this, I'll go along with it. I don't want you to feel that you're trapped here with me. I know we can't get our marriage dissolved, but we can get a divorce, or whatever it's called in the magical world, and I won't bother you. You can go back to living your life and I'll go back to mine."

As he was saying all of this, he carefully watched Ginny. Her face was usually so expressive, but he could not read how she was feeling at all. It was as though she were wearing a mask.

"Is that what you want?" she replied quietly, just avoiding his gaze.

"Gin, this isn't just about what I want."

Ginny sat quietly for a little while and then spoke again. "Okay, Harry, tell me this. If this hadn't happened, you would have eventually found out that Dean and I had broken up, right? What would you have done once you found out?"

"Besides jump for joy," he joked. "Erm, I probably would have thought about asking you out. That is, if I got in before someone else. You are a professional Quidditch player, after all. I'm sure you have wizards lining up to meet you and go out with you."

"All right, then. You admit you'd ask me out?" she said and he nodded. "I would have said yes. As I told you the other day, it's not that I got over you. I never thought that you would ever see me as anything other than Ron's sister or maybe as a friend."

They stayed in their positions and looked at each other. Harry liked where she was taking this. She would have said yes, if he had asked her out. Maybe things would be okay.

"It's probably not the best way to start a marriage. Merlin, it's not the best way to decide to get married, but we're here together, and honestly Harry, I don't think I want to be anywhere else."

Harry gulped and reached up and gently took her hands, lacing his fingers through hers.

"Being with you over the past few days has made me realise that I have really hidden my feelings for you for a long, long time. I don't want to end this now without giving us a chance to try being together."

"Really?" he said in a small voice.

"Yes, so stop being an absolute prat, Mr. Potter."

"Okay, Mrs. Potter."

"Hmmm. I can't believe that you thought of trying to end this, especially after all that you've told me about your feelings and dealing with my brothers."

"I had to give you the option. If you were unhappy here with me, then I wouldn't have been happy either."

"Well, I have an idea: Let's both try and be happy here together. How does that sound?"

"It sounds great," he replied.

Ginny dropped to her knees right in front of him so that their chests, stomachs and thighs were almost touching. Harry cupped her face with both hands and leaned down to kiss her tenderly. Ginny returned the kiss and moved her hands up his thighs to his chest. They stayed there, kissing for a while before he pulled her roughly against him so that he could kiss his way along her jaw and down her neck to her shoulder. Ginny moaned and moved her hands under his shirt so that she could caress his chest and stomach.

Harry was totally wrapped up in kissing Ginny. He had been waiting for over a day to kiss her properly again, so he was not going to waste this chance at all. His hands gradually worked their way down her arms and onto her stomach and eventually under her shirt to wander across her bare flesh. A while later they slowly pulled apart. He looked into Ginny's eyes and found them shining up at him.

"Harry," she said. "I've been waiting all day to kiss you properly, and as much as I am really enjoying this, my knees are getting sore."

He chuckled at her. "Yeah, now that you mention it, it's not that comfortable down here, is it?"

"So what do you say about moving this elsewhere?"

"Where did you have in mind?"

Ginny stood up slowly and started swaggering towards his bedroom door. When Ginny reached the door, she slowly turned and gazed at Harry before winking at him. Harry gulped. She was so gorgeous and sexy, he thought.

"I thought maybe your, no, our bed, would be a great place," she said and at the same time she started to slowly and seductively undo the buttons on her shirt.

Harry moaned at the sight of his beautiful wife, starting to undress just for him. He jumped up and quickly followed her into their room.

**-H &G-**

**Several months later**

Ginny Potter was sitting in a crowded room at the end of year Quidditch Awards. Her husband's arm was resting around the back of her chair and she was chatting happily with her fellow teammates, who were seated at their table. Harry seemed to be off in his own world thinking about something pleasant, she imagined, judging from the happy look on his face.

The last few months had been the happiest that she could remember. It had been wonderful waking up next to Harry every morning, and being able to come home to him at night. He had been to all of her Harpies games without having to disguise himself as he was happy to be in the family box. It was fabulous being able to look up and see him there cheering loudly for her at all of the games.

The only thing that nagged Ginny was her inability to actually tell Harry how she truly felt. Sometimes she came really close to telling him that she loved him but at the last minute she stopped herself. She did not know why she was so nervous about it, because she had loved him for ages. If she was totally honest with herself, she had loved him since well before they got married. Ginny usually had no problem expressing what she wanted or how she felt, so she found this annoying. Harry had not said anything to her, but she could tell that he was a little disappointed that she had not opened up to him. Because of this, she tried to show him in other ways how much she cared for him.

Ginny suddenly realised that the official part of the evening was about to start and Harry was still off in dreamland, so she brought him back to reality by an elbow in the ribs. Ginny smirked at him as he tried to catch up with what was happening around him.

"The actual awards are starting just now," she said in his ear. 'They start with best Keeper, Beater, Chaser & Seeker Awards before they move on to Best Team and Player of the Year."

"Do you think you'll win?" he asked her for the umpteenth time since she had told him that she had been nominated for Best Chaser.

"We'll just have to wait and see," she replied and then turned her attention to the stage.

When the nominees for Best Chaser were being announced, Ginny grabbed hold of his hand and squeezed tightly. Moments later, when it was announced that she had won, she hugged him tightly and kissed him, probably a little too passionately for an awards dinner, before heading up onto stage to collect her award.

As she received the award, she glanced out into the crowd, looking for Harry. _Now is the time_ , she thought as she started her thank-you speech which she had prepared a few days previously, just in case. "I'd like to thank the Harpies for being a great team to play for and my teammates for working together so well to help me achieve this. I'd also like to thank the Quidditch League for all their hard work, and my family for supporting me," she recited. Harry probably expected her to stop there and return to the table as she had shown him her speech earlier, but she had something to add that he had not seen. "Most of all, I'd like to thank my husband for all of his support at home and at games this year. I love you, Harry," she said, staring straight at him.

As the crowd applauded her, Harry sat there with a silly smile on his face. She weaved her way back through the guests, tables and chairs before accepting hugs and congratulations from her Harpies teammates. Finally she sat down next to him and looked at him with a cheeky smile on her face. He slid his chair over so that it was right next to hers, leaned over and cupped her face with both hands and kissed her. He obviously did not care who was watching or what they thought, because he kept on kissing her until the hoots and cheers from their table finally broke them apart.

"You witch," he whispered in her ear. "You would say that to me in front of a large audience, when I can't do what I want to do to you."

Ginny giggled, kissed him and whispered in his ear, "Later, I promise."

"You, my angel, had better live up to that promise," he replied huskily before hugging her to him and adding, "I love you, too, Gin."

THE END


End file.
